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Thứ Hai, 2 tháng 9, 2013

Letter from Vietnam Bishops' Conference Committee submitted the draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution and the comments received to amend the Constitution

THE TRUTH - JUSTICE - LOVE

Do minh tuyenDraft Amending the State Constitution of 1992 is still time to collect opinions of people throughout the country ... so , to avoid perfunctory performance ... formal nature ... and sham democracy ... we respectfully request that all Catholics in particular and all Vietnam fellow in country in general let speak up ... and together contribute the best ideas , most practical ... so that could help to birth a new State Constitution workable , fair and proper in accordance with national interests ... interests of the people ... and is most consistent with everything about the rules of the Declaration of International Human Rights ... and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ... which Vietnam has signed and acceded since 1982 .

WE SINCERELY SENDING TO ALL VIETNAM PEOPLE IN COUNTRY AND ABROAD THE WRITTEN COMMENTS OF THE BOARD OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS IN VIETNAM ABOUT DRAFT STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 1992.

Letter of the Bishops' Conference of Vietnam sent toCommission the draft amendment of the 1992 Constitutionand comments of suggestions to amend the Constitution

Letter of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference Committee submitted the draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution and the comments received to amend the Constitution .

Here , we introduce the full text of the comment letter Standing Committee of the Vietnam Episcopal Council :

Vietnam Episcopal Council
40 Nha Chung Street - Hanoi

The Catholic Bishops VietnamComments and SuggestionsDraft Amendment to the Constitution in 1992 (amended in 2013 )

State Socialist Republic of Vietnam has announced a draft amendment to the Constitution (hereinafter referred to as the draft ) to retrieve people's opinions from 02/01/2013 until 03/31/2013 . We endorse this job , because of a national Constitution first and foremost that of the people, by the sense of responsibility of the people and to serve all citizens , without exception . Sense of civic responsibility , the name of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference , the Standing Committee respectfully send the draft amendment of the 1992 Constitution and the people of the country a number of comments and suggestions .

I. Human Rights

Draft spent the second chapter ( Article 15-52 ) to talk about human rights . Human rights were officially recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( 12/10/1948 ) , and Vietnam also signed. Draft was fairly complete list of basic human rights . The problem is how those rights are understood , respected , protected , secured by law in practice ?

Human rights are the rights associated with human dignity , because it is the universal rights , inviolable and inalienable . Universal for all people , in all times and places , are entitled to these rights . Inviolable because penetration is deprived of human dignity . Inalienable because no one is allowed to deprive the rights of others .

Political authority was given to the people the government is to facilitate and legal environment conducive to the implementation of human rights , not to bestow unwarranted . Therefore, to truly be human rights , " State and society recognize , respect , protect and ensure the constitution and the law " ( Article 15 ) , we find it necessary to clarify a few things .

Draft affirm freedom of expression ( Article 26 ) , right to creative literature , art ( Article 43 ) , freedom of belief and religion ( Article 25 ) . However, right from the start . Future draft ruling confirms that " force leading the State and society , taking Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh City as the ideological foundation " ( Article 4 ) . Thus , to understand how and how to exercise freedom of speech and creative literary , artistic , because thoughts have been framed in a doctrine then ? Likewise , how to understand and how to exercise freedom of belief and religion , because Marxism - Leninism itself is atheism ? Is this just the right gift is given to people depending on where in , rather than universal rights , inviolable , and inalienable ? Constitution should eliminate the inconsistencies and irrationalities , then convincing new people and to please people .

In fact , the idea tied to a single consciousness inhibits creative thinking of the people of Vietnam . This is one of the major reasons leading to stagnation and slow progress in many aspects of Vietnam : education , science and technology , culture and art . If you need a foundation , we would think it is the rich cultural traditions of the people of Vietnam , rather than a sense of other . Cultural traditions that have been formed through the centuries , the people of Vietnam to help build and develop the country , tectonic humane lifestyle . The culture that is the foundation for the social life of the people of Vietnam , new ideas and to be able to receive rich complement , but not replace . There is such a new desire to preserve and promote national identity between the rapid changes of the era of globalization today .

2 . Taking traditional ethnic culture as the ideological foundation for the organization and administration of Vietnam society .

3 . Indicate the contents of the right to life ( compared with Article 21 draft ) : everyone has the right to life . No one is allowed to deprive other people's lives , from birth to the death. State duty to protect human life . Everyone has the right to protect his life , as long as no harm to the lives of others .

4 . Indicate the right to freedom of expression ( Article 26 of the draft reference ) : everyone has the right to freedom of thought , freedom of opinion and presented their beliefs .

5 . Specify religious freedom (cf. Article 25 of the Draft ) : everyone has the right to freedom of belief and religion . This right includes freedom to follow or not follow any religion , freedom to practice religious rites , individual or collective .
No any religion or any ideology is considered binding on the people of Vietnam . State no negative propaganda about religion , not to interfere in the internal affairs of religion such as training , ordain , transfer , merger split ... The religious organizations have the freedom to community social activities such as education , health ...

II . Ownership of the People

Political authority needed to run society , but the subject of political authority is the people considered as a whole in the country . People given the authority to implement it for those who have the capacity and enthusiasm that they elected to represent them , regardless of the political party they belong or do not belong to political parties . Only then can a new state law " of the people , by the people and for the people " ( Preface ) . So the freedom of every citizen candidate is required inevitable in a democratic society , civilized and healthy . At the same time the public vote , objectivity and fairness , is necessary to require people to have the confidence that they represent . The people have the right to assess the capabilities of their elected representatives , and when necessary , they may replace it represents .

Therefore, we recommend :

1 . Constitution needs to highlight the people's sovereignty , not only in theory but a statement should be made of the specific provisions of the Constitution , and can be implemented in practice . The draft states: "All power belongs to the people state that the foundation is a coalition working class with the peasantry and the intelligentsia " ( Article 2 ) . But in reality , workers , farmers and intellectuals are the most disadvantaged section of society . The fact that it confirms the ownership of the people only on paper and theory .

2 . To respect the sovereignty of the people , the Constitution should not and can not assert a priori the leadership of any political party (see Article 4 ) , because the subject of political authority is own people , and people that give authority to the people they voted for giving . These individuals were elected to be responsible to the people about what they do , but not as a vague collective eventually no one is responsible for .

3 . Current constitution only recognized land use rights , not ownership of land recognized by citizens . This has caused a lot of abuse and serious injustice . So the new constitution should recognize the land ownership of citizens and private organizations such as the vast majority of countries around the world .

4 . Constitution must respect the right to participate in the system at all levels and of all citizens , regardless of social class , race , religion ...

III . Execution of political authority

Political authority that gives the people the government is divided into legislative, executive and judicial . For the enforcement authority is properly effective , it needs a proper independence of each party and the common good of society . In fact the Vietnam for many past years, has no independence , leads to the power abuse and exceed one's authority , causing injustice and degradation in many aspects : economic , social , moral . Finally , poor people have to suffer the consequences and Vietnam , has so far been viewed as a less developed country .

The root cause is no distinction between the ruling party and the rule of law . This is reflected in the text of the Constitution in 1992 , and continued to draft such guidelines .

On the one hand , Article 74, it confirms Parliament 's " organ of State power " , on the other hand , Article 4 of the said ruling is " leading force of society and the State ." So , who's leader to whom? the Parliament just tools of the ruling party ? If so , the people elect representatives to Congress mean ? A real choice for freedom and democracy is the only form ?

The draft also spend long program to talk about the National Assembly (Article 74-90 ) , the President (Article 91-98 ) , the Government and the Prime Minister ( the 99-106 ) . There has been no talk about any and any ruling party general secretary . In the meantime the fact that the General Secretary of the highest power as well as the draft , the ruling party 's " leading force of society and the State " ( Article 4 ) ! So perhaps party above the law and outside the law , not the law ? If the ruling party led both the State and society , they need Parliament or the court... what for !

The above analysis shows inconsistency and irrationality into the body of the Constitution. The irrationality of this leads to unreasonable fact of life , the source of injustice , leading to social instability , and hindering the healthy development and sustainability of the country .

Therefore, we recommend :

1 . To overcome the irrational structure of the Constitution, by removing the prerogative of any political party , while emphasizing the role of Congress as " agencies of State power " , elected and truly representative of the people , rather than a tool of the ruling party does .

2 . Determination of credit independent of legislative , executive and judicial provide the legal basis for the enforcement of these rights independently and efficiently .

3 . Law of the People 's control for the enforcement of the law specifies .

Conclusion

The comments and suggestions we aim to contribute to the construction of the Constitution and the people's heart . We wish all the people of Vietnam actively contributes to the adjustment of the Constitution, serve the comprehensive development and sustainability of the people of Vietnam .